What does frequency measure in a sine wave?

What does frequency measure in a sine wave?

• A. Frequency is the number of cycles per second that a full sine wave occurs.
• B. The unit of frequency is volts.
• C. Frequency is the amplitude of a signal.
• D. Frequency is the length of one cycle.

Answer: (A)

Frequency is how often the sine wave repeats each second. A cycle is one complete up-and-down motion back to the same point in the waveform. If the wave completes 5 full cycles in one second, its frequency is 5 hertz. The unit hertz means cycles per second. This is different from amplitude (how tall the wave is) and from the length of one cycle (the period, which is the time for one cycle and is the reciprocal of frequency: f = 1/T). So frequency measures the repetition rate of the waveform over time.

Frequency is how often the sine wave repeats each second. A cycle is one complete up-and-down motion back to the same point in the waveform. If the wave completes 5 full cycles in one second, its frequency is 5 hertz. The unit hertz means cycles per second. This is different from amplitude (how tall the wave is) and from the length of one cycle (the period, which is the time for one cycle and is the reciprocal of frequency: f = 1/T). So frequency measures the repetition rate of the waveform over time.